By Lulu Chang —
If it knew then what it knows now, the European Union might not have approved Facebook’s $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp. On Tuesday, the European Commission accused the social media giant of providing “incorrect or misleading information” to investigators charged with taking a closer look at the 2014 acquisition. As a result, Facebook could be looking at a fine of up to 1 percent of its 2014 global revenue. That comes out to around $200 million.
According to Margrethe Vestager, Europe’s competition chief, Facebook failed to detail its plans to match individual Facebook accounts with corresponding WhatsApp accounts. If you’ll remember, just a few
months ago, Facebook made the controversial announcement that it would begin sharing users’ information between the two services. That announcement, Vestager said, has now proven problematic, as the possibility of this sort of interconnectedness was not disclosed when Facebook sought EU for regulatory approval for the WhatsApp purchase.
“Companies are obliged to give the commission accurate information during merger investigations,” Ms. Vestager said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that companies “must take this obligation seriously.”
More: After refusing government surveillance, Faebook’s Free Basics blocked in Egypt
Facebook, for its part, remains adamant that it has done nothing wrong. “We’ve consistently provided accurate information about our technical capabilities and plans,” a Facebook spokesman said. “We respect the commission’s process and are confident that a full review of the facts will confirm Facebook has acted in good faith.”
This latest investigation comes in the midst of Facebook’s fake news debacle, which has come under fire both in the U.S. and in Europe. Recently, Germany looked into legislation that would require Facebook and other social media platforms to remove fallacious stories in 24 hours. The social network has also released its own plan, including a number of new tools, to combat the spread of these stories.
The various actions that European officials have taken against Facebook, the Commission says, are for the sake of the 500 million people within its jurisdiction who might otherwise be harmed by the actions of these behemoth tech companies. So while Facebook may have had one of its best years ever in terms of revenues and profits, there may be a cloud accompanying the silver lining.
If it knew then what it knows now, the European Union might not have approved Facebook’s $19 billion purchase of WhatsApp. On Tuesday, the European Commission accused the social media giant of providing “incorrect or misleading information” to investigators charged with taking a closer look at the 2014 acquisition. As a result, Facebook could be looking at a fine of up to 1 percent of its 2014 global revenue. That comes out to around $200 million.
According to Margrethe Vestager, Europe’s competition chief, Facebook failed to detail its plans to match individual Facebook accounts with corresponding WhatsApp accounts. If you’ll remember, just a few
months ago, Facebook made the controversial announcement that it would begin sharing users’ information between the two services. That announcement, Vestager said, has now proven problematic, as the possibility of this sort of interconnectedness was not disclosed when Facebook sought EU for regulatory approval for the WhatsApp purchase.
“Companies are obliged to give the commission accurate information during merger investigations,” Ms. Vestager said in a statement on Tuesday, adding that companies “must take this obligation seriously.”
More: After refusing government surveillance, Faebook’s Free Basics blocked in Egypt
Facebook, for its part, remains adamant that it has done nothing wrong. “We’ve consistently provided accurate information about our technical capabilities and plans,” a Facebook spokesman said. “We respect the commission’s process and are confident that a full review of the facts will confirm Facebook has acted in good faith.”
This latest investigation comes in the midst of Facebook’s fake news debacle, which has come under fire both in the U.S. and in Europe. Recently, Germany looked into legislation that would require Facebook and other social media platforms to remove fallacious stories in 24 hours. The social network has also released its own plan, including a number of new tools, to combat the spread of these stories.
The various actions that European officials have taken against Facebook, the Commission says, are for the sake of the 500 million people within its jurisdiction who might otherwise be harmed by the actions of these behemoth tech companies. So while Facebook may have had one of its best years ever in terms of revenues and profits, there may be a cloud accompanying the silver lining.
No comments:
Post a Comment